Fishing tackle

ABSTRACT

Fishing tackle having a buoyant body formed from upper and lower molded parts assembled to define a sealed annular chamber within said upper part and a vertical central pocket open at its lower end and spanned at its top by a wall having a line receiving aperture. The lower part has a plurality of longitudinal ribs to provide greater weight at the lower part of the body than at the top part.

United States Patent Milovich [451 Aug. 22, 1972 [54] FISHING TACKLE[72] Inventor: Walter E. Milovich, South Bend,

Ind.

[73] Assignee: Ace Tool Engineeting Co., Inc

South Bend, Ind.

[22] Filed: Sept. 14, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 71,907

[52] US. Cl. ..43/44.9, 43/17.5, 43/412 [51] Int. Cl. ..A01k 93/00 [58]Field of Search ..43/44.9, 41.2, 44.87, 17.5

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,292,743 8/1942 Cordry..43/412 2,566,612 9/1951 Heame ..43/44.9 2,741,864 4/1956 Shotton..43/44.9 2,554,318 5/1951 Wardrip et al ..43/4l.2

Primary Examiner-Samuel Koren Assistant Examiner-Daniel J. LeachAttorney-Ohsch & Knoblock [5 7] ABSTRACT Fishing tackle having a buoyantbody formed from upper and lower molded parts assembled to define asealed annular chamber within said upper part and a vertical centralpocket open at its lower end and spanned at its top by a wall having aline receiving aperture. The lower part has a plurality of longitudinalribs to provide greater weight at the lower part of the body than at thetop part.

7 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEDAUEZQ 1912 3.686787 INVENTOR WAL TEEE. M/LOV/CH m ffwfig,

AT TOPNEYS FISHING TACKLE This invention relates to improvements infishing tackle, and more particularly to a fishing bobber.

Sport fishermen commonly use bobbers on fishing lines as a means tosignal the strike of a fish. Bobbers have been constructed of manydifferent materials and in many different shapes and configurations, andhave been of varying degrees of effectiveness and utility. Commonlybobbers are formed in part at least of a buoyant material, such as cork,and have been subject to various conditions which have limited their useand utility, such as fragile character subject to breakage, lowvisibility in use, expensive construction and fabrication, utility incertain types of fishing only, lack of stability in the water, liabilityto become caught on weeds or underwater obstacles, and limited freedomfor line manipulation.

It is the primary object of this invention to provide an item of fishingtackle which overcomes the limitations and disadvantages of priorfishing tackle aforementioned.

A further object is to provide an inexpensive, durable item of fishingtackle which is easily molded and rapidly assembled.

A further object is to provide an item of fishing tackle formed of twomolded parts having a snap fit interconnection to accommodate rapid andaccurate assembly thereof.

A further object is to provide a buoyant article of fishing tacklehaving a thin top wall spanning the upper end of an upright pocket of adiameter large enough to receive a fish hook, which wall is easilyperforated at any selected location to accommodate passage of fishingline therethrough.

A further object is to provide an item of fishing tackle having adistinctive coloration at a normally visible part thereof which isassembled with another component having a different appearance andconfiguration.

A further object is to provide a device of this character which has achambered upper part assembled with a ribbed solid lower part to providea weight differential and difference in buoyancy at different partsthereof, said item of fishing tackle being of any selected weight, andof assured strength, and of a tapered or streamlined shape.

Other objects will be apparent from the following specification.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the item of fishing tackle in use.

FIG. 2 is a view of the fishing tackle in side elevation.

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the article.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 4--4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view illustrating the parts indisassembled relation and taken on line 55 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is an inner end view of the upper part of the device as viewed online 6-6 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is an inner top view of the bottom section of the device asviewed on line 7-7 of FIG. 5.

Referring to the drawing which illustrates the preferred embodiment ofthe invention, the numeral 10 designates the body of the device. Thebody 10 is molded from synthetic resin material of any suitable type,and is of any size desired and found suitable for its intended use. Thebody is formed of an upper part 12 and a lower part 14. The parts 12 and14 are cast or molded separately and may be formed of similar materialsor of different materials.

The top part 12 has a concavo-convex outer wall 16 of rounded, dome-likeor substantially semi-spherical outline or configuration, although thecentral portion thereof at 18 may be substantially flat. A concentrictubular inner wall 20 is formed integrally with outer wall 16. Thelowermost edges of walls 16 and 20 preferably lie in a common partingplane 22. The inner surface of outer wall 16 is preferably provided witha circumferential groove 24 adjacent and parallel to the plane 22 butspaced therefrom to define an annular rib 26. The outer surface oftubular wall 20 is preferably provided' with -a circumferential groove28 which may be complementary to groove 24 and which defines an annularrib 30, preferably coplanar with rib 26 and concentric therewith. Wall20 outlines an inverted cupshaped cavity, recess or pocket locatedcentrally within the body and an outer annular chamber or recess in thebody. An aperture 32 of a size adapted to slidably receive a fishingline is formed in the central wall portion 18 and communicates with thecentral inverted pocket or chamber.

The lower body part 14 comprises an open-ended tubular wall portion 34from which project radially outwardly a plurality of integrallongitudinally extending ribs 36. An annular top wall 38 projectsoutwardly from and is formed integrally with one end of tubular wall 34and with the longitudinal ribs36. The inner diameter of at least theupper end of tubular wall 34 is preferably the same as the innerdiameter of the tubular inner wall 20 of the upper part 12, and theouter diameter of the annular top wall 38 is preferably the same as theouter diameter of the open end of the convex outer wall 16 of the toppart 12. An annular locking ring or rib part 40 is formed integrallywith and projects upwardly from the top wall 38 in concentric relationthereto.

Annular locking part 40 is preferably provided with an inwardly anddownwardly tapering or frustoconical outer surface 42, and with anoutwardly and downwardly frustoconical inner surface 44. The width ofthe annular locking part 40 at its uppermost surface is slightly greaterthan the spacing between the ribs 26 and 30 of the upper part, andpreferably slightly less than the maximum spacing between the grooves 24and 28 of the upper part. The arrangement is such that the two parts maybe interlocked by a snap fit of annular locking part 40 in the mouth ofthe annular outer chamber of the upper part, as illustrated in FIG. 4.

It will be understood, however, that a snap lock fit of the parts is notrequired, and that part 40 may have substantially cylindrical inner andouter walls to constitute a pilot part fitting into the mouth of theouter annular recess or chamber of the upper part to accurately registerthe upper and lower body parts. The body parts may be adhered inassembled relation by cement, or may be bonded together by the use of asuitable bonding agent.

The assembled parts 12, 14 provide a body 10 of suitable or desiredconfiguration, preferably rounded at its upper part and taperinginwardly and downwardly at the outer surfaces of the ribs 36.

The ribs 36 are preferably similar in configuration and equally spacedcircumferentially, with their longitudinal side walls extendingsubstantially radially. The grooves 46 formed between the ribs 36 are ofsubstantially uniform width throughout their length, as seen in FIGS. 2and 3. The ribs 36 are preferably of greater width than the width of theintervening grooves 46, and are of any selected dimension to provide thedesired mass or weight of lower body part 14 and to ensure that theweight of the lower body part 14 will be greater than the weight of theupper body part 12.

The assembled body is buoyant, as ensured by the sealed annular chamber48 defined by walls 16 and 20 of the upper body part 12 and the top wall38 of the lower body part 14, and by the cement or bonding materialjoining the two parts. The chambered part 12 may be reinforced andstrengthened by integral radial internal ribs 50, best seen in FIG. 6,whose lowermost surfaces terminate in a plane spaced from the partingplane 22 a distance greater than the height or vertical dimension of theannular locking part 40 of the lower body part.

The upper face of the annular locking part 40 may be provided with aplurality of recesses 52 registering and centered with the respectiveribs 36, and resulting from shrinkage of the plastic at thick wall ribportions as the plastic sets. Such recesses 52 are not detrimental ifthey are spaced from the inner and outer walls of locking part 40.

In the use of the device a line 54 is passed through the aperture 32 anda sinker 56 and a hook 58 are attached to the line. A slip knot 60 istied to the line 54 above the body as a means for regulating the depthat which the hook 58 is positioned in the water when suspended from thebody 10. The hook employed is preferably of a dimension small enough toenter the pocket in the body defined by tubular walls -34. This is ofsubstantial advantage during casting in that it limits the risk ofcatching or fouling of the hook as the fishing tackle is being cast. Itwill be understood that the location of the sinker 56 may be changedfrom that shown in FIG. 1 to a position closer to the hook 58 in orderto accommodate reception of the hook within the pocket of the bodyduring casting.

The arrangement illustrated in FIG. I may be altered for still fishingby applying a second slip knot (not shown) to the line 54 to be locatedwithin the pocket of the body and to cooperate with the knot 60 exteriorof the body and to cooperate with the knot 60 exterior of the body tolimit movement of the hook relative to the body as the body floats onthe water.

The part 12 of the body which is normally visible during fishing as thebody floats on the water preferably has a distinctive readily visibleappearance. One means contemplated to provide this appearance is theuse, in the resin of which the body part 12 is formed, or theapplication to the exterior of the body part 12, of daylight fluorescentcoloring material. Such coloring material can be incorporated during themolding process or applied to the part 12 separately before assembly ofthe body, and thus the body will have the desired appearance uponassembly of its parts.

My new unit can be used for spin-casting, casting with a conventionalreel, for fishing with a cane pole, or

fflfii c fi fi $333a llfiil%%i?d7ffk23%'i the provision of the pocket orrecess avoids snagging or hooking of weeds or other obstacles whencasting or when reeling in, and serves to protect both the hook and anybait (not shown) attached to the hook. Another characteristic of thedevice is that it may be used with lines of different types andthicknesses, inasmuch as the aperture 32 in the wall 18 is readilyenlarged by a tool, such as a safety pin. The plastic of which the bodyis formed renders it tough and durable, and the sealed chamber withinthe upper part of the body and the weighted character of the ribbedlower part of the body ensure that the body will always ride properly inthe water for visibility of its distinctively colored upper body portion12 so that a fisherman can be assured of vision of the body, even atsome distance, until such time as a strike by a fish results in completeimmersion of the body.

While the preferred embodiment of this invention has been illustratedand described, it will be understood that changes may be made within thescope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

What-l claim is:

1. Fishing tackle comprising a buoyant body formed of upper and lowermolded parts secured together, said upper part having a concavo-convexouter wall terminating at a transverse circular edge and an integralconcentric cylindrical wall having a transverse circular edgesubstantially at the plane of said outer wall edge, said lower parthaving an open-ended cylindrical wall, an outwardly projecting top walland longitudinal outer ribs, means securing said top wall to the annularedges of said outer and cylindrical walls of said upper part to define asealed annular chamber in said upper part and a central pocket in saidbody open at its lower end, said outer wall of said upper part having aline-receiving opening formed therein and communicating with saidpocket.

2. Fishing tackle as defined in claim 1, wherein a ring projects fromthe top wall of said lower part and fits between the outer wall and thetubular inner wall of said upper part.

3. Fishing tackle as defined in claim 2, and interfitting snap lockmeans carried by said interfitting ring and top part.

4. Fishing tackle as defined in claim 2, wherein interfitting annularsnap locking tongue and groove means are formed on the inner and outersides of said ring of said lower part and on the walls of said upperpart engaged by said ring. a

5. Fishing tackle as defined in claim 1, and a plurality ofsubstantially radial ribs spanning the sealed annular chamber.

6. Fishing tackle as defined in claim 1, wherein said pocket is ofsubstantially uniform dimension throughout its length and saidlongitudinal ribs of said lower part have a streamlined reduced taperedoutline defining a smooth continuation of the outer surface of the outerwall of said upper part.

7. Fishing tackle as defined in claim 1, wherein the upper body part hasa distinctive readily visible coloration.

1. FishIng tackle comprising a buoyant body formed of upper and lowermolded parts secured together, said upper part having a concavo-convexouter wall terminating at a transverse circular edge and an integralconcentric cylindrical wall having a transverse circular edgesubstantially at the plane of said outer wall edge, said lower parthaving an open-ended cylindrical wall, an outwardly projecting top walland longitudinal outer ribs, means securing said top wall to the annularedges of said outer and cylindrical walls of said upper part to define asealed annular chamber in said upper part and a central pocket in saidbody open at its lower end, said outer wall of said upper part having aline-receiving opening formed therein and communicating with saidpocket.
 2. Fishing tackle as defined in claim 1, wherein a ring projectsfrom the top wall of said lower part and fits between the outer wall andthe tubular inner wall of said upper part.
 3. Fishing tackle as definedin claim 2, and interfitting snap lock means carried by saidinterfitting ring and top part.
 4. Fishing tackle as defined in claim 2,wherein interfitting annular snap locking tongue and groove means areformed on the inner and outer sides of said ring of said lower part andon the walls of said upper part engaged by said ring.
 5. Fishing tackleas defined in claim 1, and a plurality of substantially radial ribsspanning the sealed annular chamber.
 6. Fishing tackle as defined inclaim 1, wherein said pocket is of substantially uniform dimensionthroughout its length and said longitudinal ribs of said lower part havea streamlined reduced tapered outline defining a smooth continuation ofthe outer surface of the outer wall of said upper part.
 7. Fishingtackle as defined in claim 1, wherein the upper body part has adistinctive readily visible coloration.